CIN BLOG ENTRY: Future Memory Remembered.

I wrote this blog entry on August 17th, 2005.
Sam Harrison, the baby that I was writing it to, was born on June 01, 2007.

I had an idea that they would be parents some time soon.

This is my most accurate possible memory of the events leading up to and including Corey and Carrie's wedding. I thought that their son might want to know about that sort of thing, some time later.

Future Memory Remembered.
04:15pm 17/08/2005
mood: nostalgic

Someday, in the far future, I will have to remember to say these things...

"Oh sure, I remember the wedding. It was a whole event. 3 or 4 days, actually. A great weekend.

I flew down from Chicago to Kentucky. Your mother and father drove with their dogs. I met your Uncle Joe (who isn't really your uncle, by the way, at least no more than I am), I met him in Louisville and we drove down to the farm together in his truck. It was summer and the weather couldn't have been nicer.

We got to the farm on Thursday evening and set up camp. All of the early guests were camping in the field, over off of the driveway. Close enough that we could get to the farmhouse if we needed to, but far enough away that we wouldn't be loud enough to wake up Carrie's older relatives. Your Uncle Ron was there too, but because he was so busy there chasing some girl, we didn't see much of him.

The bachelor party? Well, I don't think it would be proper to tell you about that. Let's just say that your dad behaved himself. He was rip roaring drunk and why wouldn't he be? Everyone kept buying him drinks and shots. But he basically behaved himself. He had a great time. And it was a pleasure watching him enjoy the company of so many friends in one place, at the same time. He was a celebrity, that night. Oh sure, I teased your mom that it was a real debauchery, but the truth is, he didn't do anything that he ought to have not done.

I remember leaving early to go back to the hotel with a ride from a friend. I'd spent my entire budget for the night on his drinks and one dollar bills for OTHER activities. I got a scolding from Kevin, who was the minister for the wedding, for leaving early and not staying up as late as the groom, but I was old, even back then. I could either gone back to the hotel and slept there or slept in the ...um... bar.

The day of the wedding was a flurry of activity. I had to drive back in town to pick up my tux. They'd screwed up the order somehow and didn't have what I needed. So, I had to drive back into get the right stuff. My companion for the ride was my friend Tresa. She was riding with me to avoid the long hours in the kitchen that the other poor girls had to suffer through. She was a smart girl. And funny too. She told me dirty jokes in the car ride that I will never forget and never repeat, niether.

We got back to the hotel and met up with the groomsmen. I had to shower, It was so hot. I was covered in sweat. Across the street from the hotel was a Pizza Hut that I once did a Costumed Character Balloon Delivery for, back in college. I think I was dressed up like Barney, the big purple dinosaur. It brought back strange memories.

That whole weekend did, actually. So many people from school and the 5 and a half years I spent there. I was so ashamed for the waste of time that I made of college. But they didn't care. Those old teachers and classmates hugged me and said how glad they were to see me and all of the old shame just faded away.

Sorry about that, this is about the wedding, right? I got off on a tangent there.

Finally, it was time to assemble the groomsmen and the tuxedos and head back to the farm. Early afternoon.

As soon as we got back to the farm, the change was noticeable. The big white wedding tent was up, at the top of the driveway. The tables and chairs were being unloaded from the rental truck. Someone was setting up the audio speakers and testing the mics. And there were people EVERYWHERE, carrying stuff in and out of the farmhouse and down that steep hill to the tent, always risking slipping and breaking their necks. Dogs ran around willy nilly, driven wild by all of the activity.

Your grandfather, Bruce, found me down in my tent and asked if I would help him with some last minute details. He'd been hiding in the cave on the edge of the property, calming his nerves with a joint and a bottle of red wine. He'd gotten so calm that he'd fallen asleep in there until one of the dogs found him and woke him up. So, he was behind in some of his chores. He told me, "whatever you do, just keep walking back and forth between the house and the tent, like you have something important to remember and SHE will leave you alone." We both knew who SHE was. Your grandmother Lynn. (I wish you'd gotten a chance to meet her, she was a lovely lady. She passed away from the cancer, in the summer of 2005. It was awfully hard on your mother.)

While your granddad supervised, I hung the sign that your grandmother painted at the entrance to the property. It was lovely. And I am glad to say that I did a proper job because it is still hanging there, to this day. After that, I checked on the groom, who was hiding inside, in the air conditioning, lest he see his bride. Your mother. I got roped into helping some pretty girl interweave white Christmas lights into the trellace that they were to be married under. I think I did a pretty good job with it, too.

I was there, working on the lights, when your Auntie Mackenzie walked up the driveway. My heart leapt a beat when I saw her. She was so lovely. You never knew her as a girl. But she was a beauty.

It was almost time for the ceremony, oh I just remembered that I forgot to mention the rehearsal from the day before. Well, it's not important. It was a pretty informal affair.

I went into the basement of the farmhouse to find the other groomsmen and get dressed. Per the brides request, Kevin the minister was wearing his formal kilt and jacket. I never asked him what was underneath. I was one of the first ones dressed and I stood over by one of the vents, dabbing my damp forehead, suddenly nervous. I was standing there when your dad came around the corner. He looked nervous and a little embarrassed to be in that tux. But he looked good. I told him so and then fixed his collar and straightened his tie for him. One by one, the other groomsmen joined us, all of us fidgeting with our tuxs.

Your dad quieted us down and presented us with our gifts for being his groomsmen. For Kevin the minister, he had a zippo lighter. The same one that you've seen him use, even today. The rest of us groomsmen got flasks. Very nice ones. With a window in them, to see what you were drinking. He filled each them up with the drink of our choice. Mine was Bailey's Irish Creme. I hadn't been drinking very long. Still an amateur. We took turns wishing your dad the good wishes that men privately share with one another and then toasted him, in unison. We each took a long draught and steeled ourselves for the coming task.

Kevin the minister left to go greet the party and we could peek out the window and see all of the people waiting in their chairs for the service to begin. They were there, on that little hill, beside the farmhouse. And the trellace was right there, under that big old tree. Finally, we all went out the side door and stoof behind the house, lining up with our bridesmaids. Mine was Star, who later went on to marry your Uncle Ron, who was the groomsman behind me. If we knew then, that they would be together today, I am sure that he and I would've traded places.

Kevin signaled for the ceremony to begin by playing "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. The whole congregation stood for the ceremony. The first person they say was your Second Cousin, who's name I forget, leading your mom and dad's dog, Elliot in on a white leash. Elliot was a rotweiller and collie mix. Much more collie, than rot. And was a sweet as could be. He knew he was part of something special. His tail was running a mile a minute and he checked out each person he passed, walking down the aisle. They went over to the front row and sat down on an empty chair and BOTH of them behaved throughout the entire ceremony.

Then, we all proceeded in after the groom. I can't remember what order I was in. But I smiled my most proud smile. I remember catching your Auntie Mackenzie's eye and she was smiling back at me. Which relaxed me, considerably.

Finally, we were all in place and Kevin switched over from "Amazing Grace" to the "Wedding March". He'd learned it just for this ceremony and it was pretty smooth. He'd also purchased his license on the internet for this service. But he's performed more of them, since then.

Your mother was a sight. I don't think that I've ever seen anything as lovely as your mother, walking down the hillside to marry your father. She was wearing a pretty white dress and had babys breath flowers in her hair. Bruce escorted her down and was clearly feeling no pain. He looked relieved, though, to pass her off to Corey and then take his seat in the front row.

I can't remember much about the ceremony itself. I know it was short. Carrie and Corey asked specifically for that. I remember that it was late in the day, in the summer and while it was warm, it wasn't unpleasant. I remember hearing the cicadas in the trees all around us and the burble of the little creek down the hill. I remember seeing a string of lights on the trellace that didn't get plugged in or that had a short. But with so many other strings in it, you didn't notice a gap in the lights. Also, the candles blew out and when the went to light their candles together, there was no fire to be found. Your Uncle Ron passed his lighter to me, behind my back and I passed it up to your Uncle Joe, behind his back and as soon as Corey was looking for a flame, Joe was able to effortlessly produce it for him. We quietly passed it back to Ron, behind our backs. He was the secret hero of the ceremony.

The ceremony ended and it was nearly dusk.
We stood in the greeting line for what felt like forever. I said "Thank you for coming" and "Aren't they lovely together?" to a million people. I also hugged old friends and any pretty girl that came along. And some of the old ladies too. Why not?

We made our way down to the wedding tent where dinner was being served. I was given the job of Master of Ceremony's, probably because I talk so much, and I did my job for the rest of the night. I introduced everyone who wanted to make a speech and made jokes for them all. A Totally Rated-PG show. I don't think I ate dinner, which was why the cocktails hit me as hard as they did. I managed to keep things together, but I did giggle at pretty much everything.

Your mother had placed cameras on all of the tables. So, I posed for pictures with TONS of folks. She'd also assembled a lovely collage of pictures of her with Corey. I took a look at that too. They met in college, so they were SO YOUNG in those pics. Just 6 short years later and already they'd changed SO MUCH.

When it came for Uncle Ron to give his speech, he was nowhere to be found. We've since learned that he was off in the woods, about twenty feet away, loving up that little girl that he'd been chasing all weekend. He came running into the tent later and said that he was "checking on the fireworks". We laughed and told him that we believed him.

After the speeches and the cutting of the cake and a VERY LITTLE bit of dancing, it was time to say goodbye to the bride and groom. As it turns out, several different guests all had the same idea and stashed a bottle of wine in the limo. Corey said that they drank for a week and a half straight on that and still had a bottle or two left over. We all walked the bride and groom down the driveway to the waiting limo. They climbed inside and that was the cue for Ron and Joe and Bruce to start setting off the fireworks. I was in the driveway behind the limo, helping to prop up a lovely young lady by the name of Tara. (Later she and I would spend a romantic weekend together in her house down in Carbonville. One of those weekends that you want to live over when you get your Heavenly Reward.)
The fireworks were disorganized at first. Then they got dangerous. The boys were too intoxicated to place them properly and they were shooting off at odd places and directions. I saw a few roman candle blossoms shoot down into the tent village. People ran down there to make sure that nothing was catching aflame. That only put them in harms way. I remember seeing bright blossoms of fireworks arcing and steaking through the woods, highlighting human figures, running for safety. I just laughed and hugged that pretty girl while she nuzzled her pretty face in my neck. It was like a movie, watching the fireworks shoot straight up or to the side and hearing the swearing coming from where they were setting the fireworks off from. Eventually a stray bit of artillary bouncing across the hood of the limo, to explore in the woods, just past it. Corey and Carrie ducked back into the limo and he yelled, "Drive! Drive! Drive! We have to get out of here!" and the limo sped off into the night. We all cheered and watched them drive away for a blissful week. And a half .

We made our way back to the tent for more drinking and carousing. I was in charge of music, so I played Deejay until the wee hours of the morning. Everyone hated my music, though. And kept taking the disks out to play something else. Which was fine with me. I was pretty far gone at that point anyways. I remember going down to the truck that I was driving for the weekend and leaning against it, kissing some other pretty girl. (The one from the fireworks had been put in bed and was being tended to, by her girlfriends.) I was gone for a while, kissing that girl, and when we walked back into the tent, we were met with cheers and catcalls from the assembled friends. I tried to talk to every person there that I hadn't seen in a while, trying to mentally record the conversation. I knew I wouldn't see them again for years. If ever.
The pretty girl that I'd kissed, hung back in the crowd, making eyes at me and letting her intentions be known non verbally. Something about her agressiveness made me nervous, so I basically left her alone the rest of the night. Eventually, the other groomsmen chided me for not taking her off into the woods and making like the fairies there. But I wasn't having any of it. As the sun came up, over the trees, she and I walked back to my tent where we collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. We were both well past the possibility of anything happening between us. And perhaps that was best. Especially considering what eventually happened to her. That's a story for another time.

And that was pretty much the whole affair as I remember it. Some of the details are a little fuzzy for me. Others, like seeing Mackenzie walk up that hill, are crystal clear to me. She WAS lovely. It was a wonderful time. And maybe I ended up disappointing that pretty girl a bit. But then again, maybe if I'd completely given over to her, I would've missed seeing so many lovely people and enjoying the lively conversation. We were all so happy for Corey and Carrie and for their beginning their life together, that we were just drunk on sheer happiness. Euphoria. Call it Euphoria, because that's how we felt. It was the first time that someone so close to me was to be married. And it was the most honest, loving ceremony that I've ever been to. It was a great way to begin a long and happy life together for your mom and dad, which eventually brought us you. And your brother.

Let's go take a walk down by the creek and I'll tell you some more stories about your dad in college. Stuff he wouldn't want me to tell you. Those are the best kind.


Sam Harrison and his mom, 2 years after this article was written.